“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” said Edwin to the tall, thin human who spoke. “Lheticus, Mewi, allow me to introduce Cotora, deputy head-officer of the Office of Federation-Faction Relations, and chief liaison from the Federation government to Grosstin.

"And I've also been tapped to help with this three-ring circus," said Cotora, though jovially, "a lot of the VIPs have complained a great deal about the tight security measures. In fact, you seem to be taking them a lot better than most of them, in spite of your, dare I say, fiery reputation."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes—just. "I save my anger to use against enemies. I don't tend to act wastefully or idiotically. The Federation and I have a common goal, so it would be foolish in the extreme to lash out for something as petty as skeptical security."

"Would that more of our allies had such a sensible attitude. Or indeed actually had a common goal with the executive office beyond squeezing the Federation for benefits while conceding as little as they can manage in return. At least you, Edwin, and a few others like Shumba understand that peace is better for business for all concerned, and worth investing in."

"Peace is better in general," I said, "wouldn't you say so, Mewi?"

"Of course," he said, "I'm not as natural a fighter, not as at ease with it as Lheticus, but fighting so that people can lead peaceful lives is always a good cause. I've gained a lot of inner strength, and outer strength too, by fighting for peace."

Much more quickly, we made our way to the grand amphitheater where the address would take place, where Cotora happily handed us off to ushers. Seats directly in front of the stage, in the very front row, had been reserved for the six-member alliance team.

Very few of the invited guests were already in their seats, and the members of the press that would be taking up the majority of seats, though none of them in any kind of pride of place, weren't even being admitted yet.

That was quite prescient of Edwin, I thought. I was the one in danger of attracting the most attention and unwanted questions, much more so than the rest of the alliance team. Having to make a grand entrance not long before the address was to start would have been a very unpleasant experience indeed. Mewi and I took our seats, and Edwin directly behind us.

Anna, Arvallei, Bruzigan and Ri'legh arrived not five minutes after us, accompanied by Clatenis and two others, one of whom looked like he could be Ri'legh's father, or possibly grandfather, who must have been the leaders of the other factions whose members formed our team. No sooner had they gotten settled than the flow of people into the amphitheater began to greatly increase.

With less than five minutes to go before the scheduled time for the address, the flow of people had stopped. I hadn't really expected this to start exactly on time, but that expectation was betrayed when mere seconds after the appointed minute rolled over, brass music began playing, coming seemingly from just about everywhere in the amphitheater. I'd heard the tune before occasionally, in passing when there was a broadcasted announcement or advertisement to join the Federation military that I actually happened to catch. I guessed it was the Federation's anthem.

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It occurred to me, at the moment the music stopped, that I had not, in point of fact, ever seen the Federation President before. I had no idea what their name was, either. I'd have to be careful for that not to make things awkward in the "after-party."

Someone came up to the podium on the stage, but only to announce the president. “Thank you all for coming. President Krendell will now deliver an important message for us all.” When the actual president stepped up, they looked, well, disappointingly ordinary. He wore a very nice suit, at least.

“People of the Federation, it is with joy and relief, but also with solemn resolve that I greet you this day. For today, as many of you have speculated, we have taken the first step toward the restoration of the Safe Zones which had, for so long, ensured the Federation’s capability to provide peace, law, and order in Area 1.

The existence and nature of the Sanctuaries has long been the Federation’s most closely guarded secret. It was thought by my forebears, the very founders of the Federation, that if that knowledge was kept out of the hands of the populace, that the Safe Zones would remain for eternity.

I never imagined that in my own tenure, grim reality would shatter this belief. Unfortunately, we have so far been unable to determine how our enemies, the Anti Federation League, discovered them for themselves. However, thanks to an initiative recently undertaken to form a top-class Floor team in a joint effort between the Federation government and its closest allied factions, we found ourselves in a position to begin efforts toward reversing the situation.

However, the Sanctuaries and the worlds which contain them are exceptionally dangerous environments. And so, giving the team the full support of the Federation military, we expanded the initiative into the Liberation Fleet program, both to provide what immediate relief they were able to from the increased Kinetice threat, and to enable them to strengthen themselves for the mission to come.

Yesterday, when the Tower sent its notification to us all, I knew that the time for secrecy had come to an end, and so I took the extraordinary step to declassify the existence of the Sanctuaries. As the notification stated, there are ten in all, and only when all of them are braved and restored will the Safe Zones return.

A time to celebrate, then, is still far off in coming. However, with one Sanctuary restored, the future of the Federation holds more than mere despair.

And yes, it is thanks to one certain member of the Liberation Fleets. Lheticus, the team’s fire caster, had first arrived in the Tower, had been a citizen of our Federation, for less than half a year when the Sanctuaries first fell. However, when the time came, it was he who volunteered to be the first to brave a Sanctuary, to be the vanguard of a venture into unknown danger for the sake of returning personal safety to quadrillions of sapient beings.

Thanks to his efforts, we will now have a much greater understanding of what reactivating a Sanctuary entails. I am certain that the Liberation Fleet team will continue to be tireless in their efforts to restore a majority of the Sanctuaries. As to the remaining four, plans for them are still being discussed, but the Federation should have more concrete information on these plans in the coming days.

The Sanctuaries will be restored. Peace will return to Area 1. On behalf of the entire Federation, this I swear, here and now!”